Published: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 6:17 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 6:17 p.m.

Nikole Villasana Jimenez came into the world on Thursday morning in the front seat of a moving Volkswagen Passat.

The little girl's father, Leobardo Villasana, didn't know whether to stop or not when his wife, Laura Jimenez, announced she had to push as they approached the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and Northwest 27th Avenue while they raced toward the hospital.

"I did know what to do. At the last minute I said, ‘If I stop, what am I going to be able to do to help?' I thought the best thing was to keep going toward the hospital," he said. "She said, ‘I have to push,' and I said. ‘Go ahead.' "

To make matters worse, the baby was born just after 8 a.m. as they struggled to get through rush hour traffic.

"The traffic was so slow. We had to stop at every traffic light," said Laura Jimenez. "It took forever to get to the hospital."

The Morriston couple had already been to Munroe Regional Medical Center the night before, but were sent home at 3 a.m. Thursday because her labor was not advancing. Villasana, who works at a horse farm, went to work at 6 a.m. after Jimenez — who has two other daughters — said she was feeling better.

"About 15 minutes after I left, she called and said her water had broken," he said.

The couple decided to leave the two younger girls at a friends home on the way to the hospital.

Soon after, Jimenez got that unstoppable urge to push.

She was surprised by the easy birth of the eight-pound baby.

"She just popped out. I just pulled her up and started hugging her to keep her warm," she said. "I cleaned her mouth and nose and she started crying and I knew everything was going to be all right."

Still, Villasana called 911 to make sure there wasn't anything they needed to do immediately for the baby.

"We didn't know about the umbilical cord. But they told us to leave it alone. They were waiting for us outside the emergency room," he said.

While there were a few names suggested for the baby's unique birth, including Parker, they settled on Nikole.

<p>Nikole Villasana Jimenez came into the world on Thursday morning in the front seat of a moving Volkswagen Passat.</p><p>The little girl's father, Leobardo Villasana, didn't know whether to stop or not when his wife, Laura Jimenez, announced she had to push as they approached the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and Northwest 27th Avenue while they raced toward the hospital.</p><p>"I did know what to do. At the last minute I said, 'If I stop, what am I going to be able to do to help?' I thought the best thing was to keep going toward the hospital," he said. "She said, 'I have to push,' and I said. 'Go ahead.' "</p><p>To make matters worse, the baby was born just after 8 a.m. as they struggled to get through rush hour traffic.</p><p>"The traffic was so slow. We had to stop at every traffic light," said Laura Jimenez. "It took forever to get to the hospital."</p><p>The Morriston couple had already been to Munroe Regional Medical Center the night before, but were sent home at 3 a.m. Thursday because her labor was not advancing. Villasana, who works at a horse farm, went to work at 6 a.m. after Jimenez — who has two other daughters — said she was feeling better.</p><p>"About 15 minutes after I left, she called and said her water had broken," he said.</p><p>The couple decided to leave the two younger girls at a friends home on the way to the hospital.</p><p>Soon after, Jimenez got that unstoppable urge to push.</p><p>She was surprised by the easy birth of the eight-pound baby.</p><p>"She just popped out. I just pulled her up and started hugging her to keep her warm," she said. "I cleaned her mouth and nose and she started crying and I knew everything was going to be all right."</p><p>Still, Villasana called 911 to make sure there wasn't anything they needed to do immediately for the baby.</p><p>"We didn't know about the umbilical cord. But they told us to leave it alone. They were waiting for us outside the emergency room," he said.</p><p>While there were a few names suggested for the baby's unique birth, including Parker, they settled on Nikole.</p><p>"She's a beautiful, healthy and strong baby," Jimenez said.</p>